Changes under way in the heart of Quincy

Plenty of changes are on tap for Quincy Center, and they started this week as Suffolk Construction razed the first buildings in the $1.6 billion downtown redevelopment project. The city, along with project partner Beal/Streetworks, will host a groundbreaking ceremony Monday at 5 p.m. to celebrate the start of construction.

By Patrick Ronan

The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, MA

By Patrick Ronan

Posted Jun. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 21, 2013 at 9:12 PM

By Patrick Ronan

Posted Jun. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jun 21, 2013 at 9:12 PM

QUINCY

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Karen Bui, 21, was walking to her Thursday afternoon class at Quincy College when she approached an unfamiliar site: a 6-foot-tall chain-link fence lining a portion of Hancock Street. Behind the fence were two bulldozers and a block filled with rubble.

“Construction means changes,” Bui said while surveying the open lot once occupied by storefronts.

Plenty of changes are on tap for Quincy Center, and they started this week as Suffolk Construction razed the first buildings in the $1.6 billion downtown redevelopment project. The city, along with project partner Beal/Street-Works, will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Monday at 5 p.m. to celebrate the start of construction.

The project, targeted for completion in 2020, is expected to bring 3.5 million square feet of new residential, retail, office, entertainment and educational space to downtown Quincy, including 1,400 loft-style apartments.

“I think it’ll add a little value to the area,” said Dan Aidonidis of Hanover, who works at Stop & Shop’s headquarters on Hancock Street.

Aidonidis and a co-worker, Jim Stone of Plymouth, left work Thursday and walked along the sidewalk on the east end of Hancock Street, which was pinned between fencing and a line of concrete parking barriers. Twenty-eight parking spaces along Hancock Street, Chestnut Street and Cottage Avenue were removed for construction purposes, the first in a series of closures and detours that will accompany construction.

“I think it’s a good change,” Stone said. “It’s about time they change it.”

Buddy Dunn, a Quincy cab driver for 36 years, wasn’t quite as optimistic. He said the construction will cause major inconveniences for pedestrians and drivers.

“It’s going to screw up the whole city,” he said while walking along Chestnut Street.

The first construction phase is called Merchants Row, which will include two new apartment complexes – the Granite Trust Lofts on Hancock Street and the Kilroy Lofts at Chestnut Street and Cottage Avenue.

Merchants Row will also include 35,000 square feet of new retail space and renovations to the historic Granite Trust Building. Existing businesses, including The Fat Cat and Alba, will remain untouched.

Beal/Street-Works expects to open the Granite Trust Lofts in July 2014 and the Kilroy Lofts in September 2014.

Other major features of the downtown project include Adams Green – a public park between city hall and the Church of Presidents – and Market Square – new retail buildings along Burgin Parkway.

The developer has not announced the retailers that will anchor the square, revealing only that they’ll be a grocery store and a movie theater.

Beal/Street-Works – with investments from Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance, LaSalle Investment Management of Chicago and National Realty & Development Corp. of New York – will pay for most of the project.

Page 2 of 2 - The city has agreed to pay the developer back for a portion of the work once new buildings are generating enough tax revenue to more than cover the costs the city will incur to finance the debt through bonds.

In addition, the state is expected to chip in $40 million to pay for Adams Green and a new bridge linking Burgin Parkway to Quincy Center via Cliveden Street.

Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.